


Rip Current

by michitariru



Category: Free!
Genre: Character Death, Drowning, this was for an angst prompt on an rp blog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 03:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20753567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/michitariru/pseuds/michitariru
Summary: Maybe the Matsuoka family curse really was real.





	Rip Current

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for this mega-angst. It got written for a writing prompt on an old RP blog, the prompt was 'send the symbol for a drabble of my muse dying'.

Despite the complete lack of swimming lessons in her eighteen years and her late father’s untimely death in the ocean all those years ago, Gou had never really had a fear of the water. She had a basically non-existent need to learn to swim, so she’d just never bothered. She was content watching Rin have his fun in the water growing up, perfecting his butterfly stroke and gaining prowess in the elementary school competitive swimming circuit. That was always enough for her.

Beach trips were always fun for her too. Obviously she wouldn’t flat out go swimming with the other boys who were actually able to, but she would wear a bathing suit and go in far enough just to get her legs wet for a little, then go back to dry land and be satisfied. Never had a single problem to this day.

The Matsuoka family curse was something she’d been told by her brother once long ago, back before their father had passed away and it seemed more like an old family wives tale meant to entertain than actually hold any water (pardon the pun). Surely their grandfather and great-grandfather dying at sea was just a coincidence at the hands of the professions they’d chosen in life. But when their father died too, it seemed a little bit more real to the youngest Matsuoka when the old story did ever cross her mind. But Rin hardly ever went out into the ocean, she couldn’t remember the last time she had seen him anywhere near it with the intent to be in it, so what was there to be worried about?

August was finally upon them, summer beginning its slow descent towards the end of the season, but weather still plenty hot and bright and sunny enough to justify another trip to the beach with everyone. Everyone from Iwatobi and Rin and Sousuke included. Rin hadn’t yet left for Australia, so a big group outing like this before he did seemed like a perfect excuse to have one. They were going to have a barbecue on the beach later once sunset got closer, and probably a small fire going once the sun had fully gone down. The weather was perfect, sun was out, a breeze strong but not strong enough to blow people and objects around, the waves were big but not overwhelming in appearance. Everyone was excited, everyone was happy. Exactly how things should be for the high school students and graduates.

Bathing suit had been under her clothes because she knew she’d get in the water for a bit like everyone else after they’d all gotten settled. All were perfectly aware of Gou’s inability to swim, but when you had six capable swimmers in the vicinity, what could possibly go wrong?

Once she had waded in up to mid-thigh, that was as far as Gou would consider going. When the current was on its way out from the constant push and pull, the water was usually knee height for her. Even she had no fear as the group moved around in the water; Makoto, Rin, and Sousuke were out in deeper waters treading water some twenty feet away, Haru was off in his own little world floating and rocking gently with each wave that passed him, and Nagisa and Rei were no more than ten feet away from Gou, up to their waist (Nagisa’s waist anyway). Rip currents were known by all of them, but again with so many capable swimmers in their group, not much mind to serious danger was given.

A dual splash from Rei and Nagisa had Gou laughing happily as she took a step back to move better out of range of any more splashes, and slapping her hand and arm against the surface of the water to send a small spray back at them. It wasn’t until Gou took another step back and suddenly had her legs swept out from under her and her head disappeared beneath the surface that the mood switched from merry to panic in less than a second. The possibility of Gou submerging herself just to scare the others for fun was very unlikely, and when she didn’t immediately resurface or close to it, Nagisa and Rei were immediately yelling to the others further out.

That was the problem with rip currents. You didn’t know they were there until you got caught up in one, and the direction and speed of them had no rhyme or reason either. They were just as unpredictable as the ocean itself. And until that moment Gou had never truly felt any fear of the water. Opening her mouth was instinctual because of the human body’s inherent need for oxygen, but all it’d done was fill Gou’s mouth with water and had her choking on the salt water she was being dragged through forward and side to side. She had no ability to discern what direction was up or down, a few rolls from the rip tide had her entire focus on the fact that her arms were proving useless to bring her any closer to the surface. The only clue to any of the others as to her whereabouts as she got dragged further and further out was the red hair both Matsuoka children were known for.

Time seemed to drag on, when in reality it was only fifteen seconds that had passed since Gou disappeared beneath the water’s surface. A lack of oxygen was already causing her mind to feel disoriented, her lungs aching for the air it desperately needed. She couldn’t even hear the panicked screams that were coming from her brother and best friends. No matter how strong of swimmers they were, their speed was no match for that of the ocean when it was pulling a tiny one hundred and ten pound girl with it. And even chasing after her posed dangers to themselves, not that any of them were paying it much mind when too much time had passed and signs of their youngest club member were eluding them.

Coughing again, unwillingly allowing more water to creep down her throat and into her lungs, Gou’s nose burned from how long she’d been underwater and her arms and legs felt useless as bricks in the water to pull her to safety. Once fifteen seconds had turned into thirty, and thirty ticking towards forty-five, Gou was much further out in the water than any of her friends would have thought. The problem with her never attempting to swim was they had never determined if she would float or sink in the water, so unbeknownst to all of them Gou was sinking exactly as Rei had when he first learned to swim. Even when the rip current finally reached its end and Gou was suspended in the open water, almost as if she was floating about freely in outer space.

She’d have been able to try and claw at the water to make her rise to the surface, but the teenager had hit her body’s limit for holding her breath over forty seconds ago. Tiny, desperate chokes at nonexistent air was forcing more water into places it shouldn’t be, taking away any slim chance the girl had of coming out of this alive. Limbs were unable to move beyond useless motions that did nothing to reverse her descent. Her chest burned and all the still-active parts of her psyche were focused on the simultaneous pain from the lack of oxygen and being tossed around in the ocean, and the scream from her lungs that were begging for air. The water that had gotten into her lungs had the redhead passing out and losing consciousness. No more time for her mind to think, alert itself that danger was turning to the threat of death with each passing second. And as each second also passed and Gou’s body very slowly sunk further and further down, it was next to impossible for her to be located by the frantic search going on at that very moment. Not when she was two hundred feet out from where she disappeared at and getting further by the moment.

No goodbye to any of them, no final word from her that any of them could hold onto that she said right before she disappeared to keep as their last tragic memory of her. Rin hadn’t even been looking in her direction when Gou got pulled under, but maybe that was for the best that that mental image wouldn’t be burned into his memory for the rest of his life of his little sister disappearing right before his eyes and leaving him absolutely powerless to get to her in time. 

And maybe there was some eerie and uncanny truth to that story about the family curse. Maybe it didn’t always take blood related family members in succession of their birth. Maybe it was just the un-luck of the draw when fate decided it was time for another Matsuoka to be claimed by the relentless ocean and make it one more that added to that family legend.


End file.
